Kalispell Hotel

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Running water, wake-up calls, and doors with locks were just a few of the amenities travelers could expect in this classy and expensive $2-a-night hotel, which opened in 1912. Kalispell architect Marion Riffo designed the three-story landmark built by local contractor B. Brice Gilliland. Since five other hotels closer to the railroad tracks offered stiff competition, a rooftop electric sign—one of the largest in the northwest—beckoned travelers. Hotel proprietors included Montana author Frank Linderman, who managed the business from 1924 to 1926. His frequent guest was renowned Montana artist Charlie Russell. Sale of the hotel lease brought Linderman enough profit to allow him to continue his writing. In later decades, the hotel fell on hard times and guests became less particular. Renovation, begun in 1989, transformed the original 52 rooms with “facilities down the hall” into a modern 40-room hotel. But the historic ambience remains in the lofty tin ceiling and oak stairway that still grace the spacious lobby, inviting visitors in imagine a bygone era.